Contains: micro, suggestive, story

It was morning and Chrysalis was in the bathroom doing her hair while Alex sprawled out on the bed staring at the dark ceiling. He felt really weird. He simply couldn't keep his mind off what had happened last night with Chrysalis. Why had he enjoyed it? It didn't make any sense, didn't he almost die? So why was he looking forward to doing it again? Was it just an animal instinct to reproduce? Had Chrysalis infected him with some pheromone? Maybe he was under a spell? The question just wouldn't go away.

In a desperate attempt to drive those thoughts away, Alex began drawing pictures using the intricate lines on the ceiling. He drew a bunny, the Statue of Liberty, a rather detailed dumpster, the Big Dipper, and a few pieces of furniture. He couldn't seem to find a sailboat though. When he tried to look for any kind of specific image, he was left frustrated. After several minutes his eyes started to hurt, but in the end Alex did succeeded in kicking the arousing images from last night out of his head.

Chrysalis returned to the room with a bit of a bounce to her step and a big smile on her face. "Well my Personal Attendant, I have some errands to run today and I have arranged for a new guardian to spend some time with you. He's a little old, but he should have some wonderful stories to tell."

"Who is he?" Alex asked as he sat up.

"He's a retired soldier. He isn't much use in a fight these days unfortunately," Chrysalis commented sadly. "You should find him to be interesting company nonetheless."

"What are you going to be doing in the meantime?"

"Just some small chores around the Hive." There was a look in her eye that suggested she was planning more than simple chores. "Maybe I'll give you a tour someday."

With some light tittering, Chrysalis made her escape from the room. Alex felt his gaze seemingly drawn to her jiggling flank as she bobbed out the door however. As soon as she had disappeared from view, he shook his head. "That was... different. She forced me to... and I'm..." Alex was a little mad at himself to say the least. He had just checked out Chrysalis's ass and now thoughts of their act were flooding his head again!

His self-punishment came to an abrupt halt when he heard a door open and a mumbled greeting. Apparently the retired soldier had arrived at the same time Chrysalis was leaving. He knew from his parents that it was rude to listen in on others conversations, so Alex respectfully waited for them to finish their grown-up talk in the other room. Fortunately, they didn't talk long before Alex had a rather intimidating changeling join him in Chrysalis's room.

He was almost as tall as Chrysalis and he had a long pale green mane that practically dragged along the floor. His legs were thick and there weren't many holes running through them. His wings were gone, probably torn off in a battle long ago judging from the scars engraved on his back. One of his eyes was a crisp ocean blue, but the other was a disturbing glowing orange color. The deep agonizing mark that began above the eye and continued bellow it made it obvious what had happened. If that wasn't enough, it looked like the top half of his horn had been cut off and replaced with a steel point. The metal on him didn't stop there either. From the knee down on his back left leg there was nothing but cold gray steel.

He also looked pretty angry while he stared down at Alex, who couldn't help but take a step back from this monster of a changeling as he came into the room. Alex hadn't exactly met a lot of them yet so he could safely say this was the most evil, dangerous, and downright scary looking changeling he'd ever seen. The way his eye shown in the dim light and how his powerful aged muscles bulged from his thick hide. Alex didn't need anyone to tell him this was a veteran of war.

Alex could have never predicted what happened next. The changeling of terror... smiled? It wasn't a smile of malice, hate, or even insanity. It was the smile of a friend, the kind of smile you'd wear after telling a funny joke. Alex blinked a few times as this new changeling greeted him.

"Why are you so tense, Alex? There's no need to be scared of me, I'm just here to keep a fellow changeling occupied. What kind of brother would I be if I was cruel to my own family?"

Alex took a moment to find his voice. "Family?"

He laughed long and deep. "Of course, we're all family. The whole Hive! I know you weren't born here, but that just means you're an adopted child. Which is still one of us. Now, my job these days involves passing what I know on to the youngsters, so I'm not about to treat you any differently then one of my pupils."

"You're a teacher?" Alex asked still bewildered about the way this changeling was acting.

"Yes. I'll have you know that I am quite knowledgeable. Not all old timers are reduced to vegetables you know." Alex barely registered the joke.

"So you're not, like, angry?"

He chuckled. "I guess you're saying that 'cause of how I look? Would you feel more comfortable if I backed up a little?" He suddenly realized that Alex had to crane his neck to make eye contact due to the size difference.

"Yes please." Alex said only after he'd started moving. "But what about my... relationship with Chrysalis? Doesn't that make you... hate me?" Apple was still fresh in his mind.

"Hey, we all have our duties in the Hive. Some of us just got better jobs than others." He suddenly became more serious. "But I'd appreciate it if you still called her by her title, Queen Chrysalis."

"Got it." Alex could understand, this guy had been a soldier and had an even deeper respect for Chrysalis then the others.

"Good. So what would you like to talk about. Or do? I really don't have a preference in the matter," he admitted as he looked around the room passively.

There was an awkward silence as Alex tried to think of something they could discuss or do and he was starting to relax at this changeling's laid-back attitude. "Well, you already know my name, so..." he didn't need to finish the question.

"Of course! Where are my manners? I am Oleander, Toxin Dropper of--you don't know what that is do you?" he stopped to ask.

Alex shook his head. "What's a Toxin Dropper?" His fear of this changeling had finally faded to curiosity. He wanted to know who this guy was and how he had gotten in such horrible shape.

"A Toxin Dropper is a soldier responsible for dropping chemical weapons on the enemy in a battle. As such, we need fast wings and a deep understanding of poisonous materials. You could say it's a dead art though." So he was like a bomber who only dropped poisons.

"Why?"

"Right after the idea was developed, countries all over the world started banning there use because it hurt the environment. I just had to be the one and only generation of soldiers that picked up the skill. I mean, they developed the weapon, then I signed up for the position, and five years later everyone starts telling me I can't use it! Totally messed up!" It seemed the topic really got him upset because he just kept going. "I became a Toxin Dropper because I wanted to deliver fear wherever I went, especially on the battlefield. But I never even got through boot camp before they told us we'd never be allowed to use our skill for the queen. I was only a foal when those weapons were made, I grew up dreaming of that power. How could they dangle it in front of my nose and then rip it away? What am I, a damn rabbit!? I was going to serve this Hive with pride and strength. No changeling was going to be higher or more feared than I! I was going to be great!" he declared.

Alex sat there for a while and let him vent. He was just glad Oleander was yelling more towards the ceiling than him. "Okay, I think you made your point."

"Huh?" he snapped out of his tirade like he'd been in a trance.

"If you trained for it, but could never use it, what job did you have then? What happened?" Alex figured that Oleander had never lived that dream of his.

"Oh, well... uh." Oleander shook his head to get the memories flowing. "All soldiers were required to learn the basics, so I was still considered a soldier... even if my specialty was illegal now," he grumbled. "I just couldn't really rise in the ranks very much because of it."

"Have you fought in any wars?" Alex asked as Oleander seated himself. His posture was odd with his fake leg not having a flexible ankle.

"No, not a single war. When a changeling says they're in the army, they almost always mean they are like peacekeepers. Or guards. We make sure there is no fighting within the Hive. Sometimes were sent out to capture rogue changelings or rescue changelings that get themselves caught. Unlike most other jobs in the Hive, we spend the majority of our lives here at home." Alex pictured Oleander as a police officer.

"If you're usually just a peacekeeper, why did you join for the war aspect? Wasn't that kind of--" Alex stopped himself from saying anything else. Oleander may have relaxed around him, but he knew it was best not to call him stupid and make him mad.

He nodded with a dark chuckle. "Yeah, I was kind of delusional and thought that as soon as I joined, we'd get involved in some kind of action with someone. Or somepony."

That reminded Alex of the current conflict Chrysalis was walking into by choice. "Chry--Queen Chrysalis--is going to war, are you going to fight?"

"No," he looked at his back and scowled at the stumps where two wings used to be. "I am useless now." He turned his head back to Alex with sadness in his eyes. "You know, it was the loss of these wings that made me retire. Better than having my commanders tell me to leave. The pony that did this..." Oleander drifted off into space staring at the floor.

Alex got the impression that Oleander liked to reminisce about the past, even if it made him emotional. So Alex interrupted him, "what about your eye and leg?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Some of our kind aren't as friendly as me. This eye," he pointed at the orange one with a hoof, "was caused by a little bitch named Apple."

Alex's jaw nearly fell off. "Where is she now?" he asked with concern rising in his voice.

"She's somewhere around here. She managed to convince everyone that being drunk is a viable excuse for stealing from a noble and gashing a soldier's eye out. I'm left blind in one eye and she gets to walk around bragging about how she hurt me using only a rock even while intoxicated!"

"How'd she even get ahold of alcohol?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It could have all been an act just to get attention, but that bottle she was holding sure didn't help her case in my book."

"Is she known for... being crazy?" Alex felt that they suddenly had something in common.

"Yeah, in a way. Do you know her?"

"Well," Alex paused. Was he going to tell Oleander what she had done to him? "She was my former guardian."

His eyes nearly popped. "WHAT!! Let me guess, you asked the queen to replace her after she threatened you a few times."

"Yeah," Alex thought he could leave it at that, no need to fill him in on all the details.

Oleander looked off to the side and smiled as he mumbled to himself. "So I pretty much took her prized job away from her. Now who's got something to brag about?"

Alex couldn't help but smile at his words. A trained soldier was competing with a lunatic for bragging rights. "So if you're not a soldier anymore, what do you do again?"

"I'm a teacher now." He seemed fine changing the conversation too. "I could have sworn I told you already."

Alex smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. What do you teach?"

"Transformation, close combat, magic, flight, proper physical fitness, and good nutrition."

Alex's eyes lit up. "Did you say transformation and magic?!"

He nodded, looking a little confused at Alex's sudden excitement.

"CAN YOU TEACH ME!?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Sure, I guess. Might be a good way to pass the time," he grinned.

Oleander had a thing for complaining and going on rants, but he was a god send. Not only did he also have a problem with Apple, but he was willing to teach Alex magic and transformation. Things were starting to look up.

Author's Note

Oleander is a poisonous flower